Cost of Diabetes: Apathy

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Matthew Moreno picks up a to-go order of brisket for dinner Thursday at the Bill Miller Bar-B-Q restaurant near his Westside neighborhood. Moreno, 29, comes from a long line of people afflicted with diabetes. A grandmother needed dialysis. So did an uncle. His little sister was diagnosed with Type 2 when she was just 13.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Matthew Moreno pours barbecue sauce on his brisket Thursday as they eat dinner at their home. Matthew doesn’t officially have diabetes. He hasn’t been to the doctor for an official diagnosis and has no plans to go, despite his mother’s pleas.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Martina (right) and Matthew Moreno play with their phones Thursday as they pass the time in their home. Martina was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes when she was 13. Matthew is prediabetic and hasn’t been tested by a doctor despite his mother’s pleas.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Matthew Moreno leaves family’s house to pick up dinner Thursday. Last year, after his father, Martin, was diagnosed with prediabetes, Martin took Matthew with him to a diabetes education class where they learned about diet, exercise and managing diabetes. But they’ve struggled to follow those instructions.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

MICHAEL ZAMORA/CALLER-TIMES file Aaron Villalobos, a volunteer with Catholic Charities, helped take blood pressure of registrants in May 2010, as the registration line grew during the Fit & Free by the Sea event at Cole Park. More than 1,000 people showed up for the first weigh-in but only 40 returned for the final weigh-in.

2010 Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Martin Moreno (top) sits with his children Martina (left) and Matthew Thursday as they eat dinner at their home. Last year, after Martin was diagnosed with prediabetes, he took Matthew with him to a diabetes education class where they learned about diet, exercise and managing diabetes. But they’ve struggled to follow those instructions.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

CALLER-TIMES FILE Dr. Stephen Ponder is a pediatric endocrinologist who worked for years on the front lines of the city’s diabetes crisis until he moved away in 2010. Fatalism is rampant in Corpus Christi, he said.

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Matthew Moreno pulls out their dinner order Thursday at his family’s home. Moreno, 29, comes from a long line of people afflicted with diabetes. A grandmother needed dialysis. So did an uncle. His little sister was diagnosed with Type 2 when she was just 13.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

MIKE BAIRD/CALLER-TIMES file In December 2010, Criselda Aguirre (from left), Priscilla Sanchez and her mother, Eloisa Sanchez, attended the Fit and Free By the Sea final weigh-in. Although more than 1,000 people showed up for the first weigh-in, only 40 people came to the final weigh-in.

MICHAEL ZAMORA/CALLER-TIMES file Amanda Torres (left) and her daughter Valerie, 13, had their blood pressure checked in May 2010 during the Fit & Free by the Sea event at Cole Park. More than 1,000 people showed up for the first weigh-in but only 40 returned for the final weigh-in.

2010 Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Matthew Moreno talks with sister Martina Moreno, 16, as the two order food Thursday at the Bill Miller restaurant near their west side neighborhood. Martina was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes when she was 13. Matthew is prediabetic and hasn’t been tested by a doctor despite his mother’s pleas.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times Matthew Moreno talks about his health concerns Thursday at his family’s home. Last year, after his father, Martin, was diagnosed with prediabetes, he took Matthew with him to a diabetes education class where they learned about diet, exercise and managing diabetes. But they’ve struggled to follow those instructions.